


Occupational Hazards

by spacerocks



Category: Young Justice (Cartoon)
Genre: AU, AU where artemis never joined the Team, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, F/M, IDENTITY SHENANIGANS, Identity Reveal, Parallels to canon, Pining, Secret Identity, Slow Burn, Unresolved Romantic Tension, and grew up a villain instead, artemis is a villain, because she never found a way to escape her awful family, coworkers by day enemies by night, cue the angst, like a coffee shop au but make it diner
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-11
Updated: 2020-10-11
Packaged: 2021-03-08 00:41:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,588
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26926768
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/spacerocks/pseuds/spacerocks
Summary: Wally West’s summer was going great. Missions with the Team, a day job as a cook in the local diner, and best of all: no school. Flipping pancakes by day, fighting crime as Kid Flash by night— life was good.That was, until, an abrasive, irresistible blonde haired she-devil was hired as Happy Harbor Diner’s newest waitress. Changing Wally’s workflow and daily routine, he can’t help but fall in love with his new coworker, even if he refuses to admit it.But at the same time, he’s stumped on the appearance of a new villain in Happy Harbour…
Relationships: Artemis Crock/Wally West
Comments: 1
Kudos: 24





	Occupational Hazards

**Author's Note:**

> I've literally been planning this story out since June 2019. Yes, before season 3 part 2 even aired. 
> 
> I've been sitting on it for a WHILE, but I've always loved the concept of what would it be like if Artemis chose to follow her family's footsteps in the League of Shadows, and what if she crossed paths with the team? 
> 
> And better yet... her and Wally being forced to work together as coworkers. At a diner. (Originally, it was going to be a coffee shop AU, but I partly got inspired from spending every morning after class at the Denny's on campus last year and became enamoured with diners.) 
> 
> ANYWAYS. Enjoy.

“Finally,” Wally groaned in exasperation as the Bioship finally pulled into the familiar hangar of Mount Justice.

The multi-hour long trip back to the cave from their most recent mission had felt like days to him, even if it was ten times faster than an ordinary plane. Granted, time somewhat worked differently for him, and while the rest of the team had relaxed on the ship after the successful mission, he had quickly become bored the second his Nintendo had died, and increasingly hungry after he had downed his emergency snacks. The mission was especially gruelling for him, and he was already reaching his limit.

What had started out as a reconnaissance mission somewhere in the depths of Brazil quickly had become less recon, and more fighting when they had eventually blown their own cover in the midst of running in without a plan (courtesy of an angry Superboy). More or less, this was what usually happened when Batman declares _recon only, do not engage with the enemy,_ but Wally liked to think of it as more of a suggestion. Not that he’d tell Batman that, of course.

“Man, am I hungry,” he announced, stepping off the ship. Cracking his neck, he sped around the area in an attempt to get his blood pumping fast again. He hated sitting around in the same place for too long, and he had already lost count of how many hours he spent sitting in the Bioship.

“You’re always hungry,” Robin retorted, tossing him an unopened granola bar. Wally caught it wordlessly as the team made their way further into the cave. He’d never known _how_ exactly Robin managed to fit so many items in the depths of his utility belt, but he also never bothered to ask— but with Robin, everything was a mystery.

M’gann smiley brightly at him. “Are you going back to Central City for the weekend, Wally?”

Wally shrugged, taking a bite into the chocolate banana bar. “Nah, I got work first thing tomorrow morning at the diner.”

Robin shook his head. “Tell me again why you don’t just work at the CC Jitters back in Central so you don’t have to do the commute back and forth?”

“Two words, dude: Zeta, Tubes,” Wally counted on his fingers, “Plus, I’d rather be closer to the cave and to the team. I love my job at the diner.”

Ever since summer vacation had started last month and he no longer had school commitments, his parents had allowed him to stay at the cave overnight on weekends. Spending so much time in Happy Harbor, he wound upon many Help Wanted signs around local businesses in town and ended up finding a job at a diner in the mornings, with an extra flexible schedule that worked in his favour. Free food, extra money, win-win.

“Didn’t you start like... two weeks ago?” Robin asked curiously.

“Two weeks and four days, starting tomorrow. They totally love me there. I’m basically their favourite employee.” Wally boasted.

“Why do I find that hard to believe?” Conner raised an eyebrow.

“You’re in denial, Supey. I’m just Happy Harbor’s greatest line cook. Another one of my favourite reasons for working there is that I get to eat all the extra food, so, best job ever.”

“Yeah, that sounds like you.” Conner crossed his arms.

“Weren’t you late for work last time?” Robin asked.

Wally shifted. “No. Yes. By like, two minutes. I got distracted, okay?”

“I seriously wonder how you still manage to be late for everything despite having super speed,” Kaldur mused.

M’gann giggled. “That’s Wally for you.”

The rest of the team laughed at his antics. He was grateful to have such a good relationship with his four teammates. He felt on top of the world.

The team lounged around for a bit longer (mostly to eat snacks, courtesy of M’gann) before beginning to go their separate ways— Robin going back to Gotham, Kaldur to Atlantis, and Conner and M’gann back to their rooms.

As Conner began to head back to his own bedroom, Wally sped in front of him, blocking the door to his room. “Hey Supes, wanna play some video games? I’ll teach you.”

Conner frowned in confusion. “Didn’t you literally just say you have work tomorrow morning?”

Wally frowned back. “Yeah, and?”

Conner squinted at him, reaction unwavering.

Wally gestered aimlessly with his hands. “Oh, come on! When have I ever let that stop me from doing dumb stuff before?” 

“Uh, never?”

“Exactly! Well?”

“...Yeah, okay, fine.” Conner sighed in defeat.

“Yes!” Wally fist pumped in triumph.

One short set up on the TV and a variety of snacks from the kitchen later, they found themselves looking at the character selection screen of Mario Kart.

“You know, I don’t meet to brag, but I’m kind of the master at this game,” Wally commented, sitting cross legged on the large couch. It was the quintessential racing game, and even without Wally’s galaxy brain logic that racing games equates to running speed, he was genuinely good at Mario Kart. And no, he wasn’t humble about it.

Conner glanced at him. “You do know that’s still bragging, right?”

“Yes. Yes I do.”

Conner sighed, and seemed to choose the first character that he saw, selecting Donkey Kong with a nonchalant shrug. It suited him. Wally chose Yoshi after some careful thought, and selected the easiest Grand Prix for them to practice on.

“Am I going to regret this?”

“No. This is a learning experience, SB,” Wally replied, flailing his arms around in the air. “Everyone has to play Mario Kart at some point in their life. Heck, even Rainbow Road.”

“What’s ‘Rainbow Road’?” Conner frowned in earnest confusion.

Wally had to suppress the urge to laugh. “Oh, dude, you have so much to learn…”

By the first round, he’d somehow managed to lap Conner twice, and was beating him in every way possible.

Conner was somewhat close behind, coming in at a modest fourth place, getting angry every time he smashed into a corner or fell off the track. Wally was so ahead in first place that it wasn’t really a competition. Conner may have the ability to physically pummel him, but he was no match for Wally’s hand eye coordination and quick reflexes.

After placing first once more after countless more rounds, Wally turned to his reluctant gaming partner. “So, which track do you wanna play next? ...Con?”

He was surprised to see Conner fast asleep, if his soft snores were any indication. Only he could fall asleep playing video games. Or maybe he was just tired of losing. Either way, it was weird to see the boy of steel look so…peacefully calm for once.

Seizing the opportunity, Wally silently pulled out his phone, snapping a photo of the sleeping Conner before sending it to Robin with a devilish grin. He’d for sure get a kick out of that.

His stomach suddenly rumbled in hunger, and he groaned in annoyance before making a beeline towards the kitchen. Upon opening the fridge, his pensive expression turned to one of disappointment when he quickly realized that there was nothing left in the fridge. Nothing for him to eat, anyway. He didn’t really feel like eating condiments from the bottle. He technically _could,_ but he also had enough dignity to not eat ketchup by itself. In a sandwich, however…

His stomach growled again. “Carp.”

He could easily bake something— Megan had given him her signature chocolate chip cookie recipe so he could bake himself cookies whenever he pleased, but the problem was the whole waiting for them to bake in the oven. Most of the time, his impatience got the best of him— especially when it came to food.

And the only other alternative was going out now to buy food from the store.

Wally checked the time. 12:19AM.

He was really hungry, and it couldn’t hurt to go out and see what stores were still open. There was bound to be a 24 hour convenience store somewhere nearby. Happy Harbour wasn’t exactly large.

Zipping towards his bedroom, he exchanged his Kid Flash uniform for some sweatpants and a hoodie from the duffel bag next to his bed. He never really saw his bedroom in the cave as _his,_ more so than a guest room which he occasionally used when he slept nights here. Unlike M’gann and Conner who lived at Mount Justice full time, he still lived in his house in Central City.

Yet despite living there, he chose to work in Happy Harbor, simply because he could— which also happened to be his reasoning for a lot of things. He didn’t have to work— it wasn’t like he was in desperate need of money, but he liked to earn the things he got. Being a superhero didn’t exactly pay well. Unless, of course, you’re Bruce Wayne…

Frowning, he checked his watch again. _12:23AM._ He had work in about six hours from now. But he was still hungry, and food trumps sleep. He had his priorities in order.

In an instant, he had zipped out of the bedroom and was heading straight towards the hangar exit of the cave, leaving debris in his wake. Speeding through the road on the way to downtown Happy Harbor, he heaved his way towards the nearest convenience store.

The store itself was empty, besides the bored cashier. A mindless pop song played quietly on the radio, and the cashier smiled awkwardly at Wally in greeting. Shuffling over to the snack aisles, the speedster examined his options, and soon plopped three different bags of potato chips and a bottle of coke onto the counter. Paying with cash, he left the store arms full of junk food giving a sheepish smile to the cashier as he walked out onto the empty sidewalk.

Happy Harbor was different from Central City. What he liked about it is that it was much more quaint and peaceful, but that was kind of a given with beach towns. Unlike Central, where the crime rate was higher, this coastal town pretty much had no villains making commotions on the regular. It was peaceful.

He absently opened one of the bags of chips and popped several into his mouth at once. The trip here was worth it. _Doritos never failed to satisfy,_ he thought, walking past several shops on the empty streets. Every store besides the 24 hour convenience was closed, and he seemed to be the only person on the street. It was eerie. He’d never seen a main street this quiet before, save for the sounds of his footsteps and his crunchy chewing.

As he passed by a large building, he began to mumble the lyrics to a Britney Spears song under his breath, closing his eyes as he chewed on his chips in bliss.

That bliss, however, was soon interrupted by a loud noise that sounded a lot like glass windows breaking into a million pieces, rampant yelling, fighting, and the sound of feet shuffling.

Nearly choking on the chips in surprise, he looked up to the nearby building and was shocked to see several masked people escaping from the glass building, now accompanied by what sounded like a security system’s alarm going off. If he had to guess, he would say that either something important was just stolen from that building, someone had broken in and out of somewhere they were not supposed to be, or _both._

“What the hell?” he whispered, stopping dead in his tracks on the sidewalk of the building. Had he accidentally just walked by a crime scene taking place? In _Happy Harbor? WHY?_

His suspicions were correct when he spotted a black briefcase in one of the man’s hands from afar. Looking back at the building, he realized that it was actually the city’s lab, and if these guys were stealing something from here, it couldn’t be good. He should have known.

Narrowing his eyes, he instinctively reached into his sweatshirt pocket for his Kid Flash goggles, but froze when his fingers reached for air instead. 

_No._

Frantically, he patted down his sweatpants pockets, but to no avail.

_No, no, no._

The _one time_ he leaves his goggles behind. And there’s what most definitely looks like suspicious activity going on in that building. Wally grit his teeth in frustration.

He had no way of concealing his identity, no intel on what was being stolen other than it was something that most definitely _shouldn’t be stolen._ He definitely didn’t have time to run back and change into his costume — he was fast but he wasn’t Uncle Barry fast. And he didn’t have his communicator on him either, but there was no way anyone from the team could get here fast enough in time. It was up to him, and in this moment he felt powerless. What could he do, perform a citizen’s arrest? _Yeah right._

If he didn’t act right this second, those shady masked men were going to get away with whatever the hell they were planning, and it would be his fault if he had the power to stop it and did nothing.

 _Screw the secret identity,_ he thought, pulling up the hood of his sweatshirt and pocketing his junk food as he examined the group of criminals who were currently escaping. _Just run in full power, and do a cannonball kick_ , he mentally planned. _It should have enough of a domino effect to knock most of them out. Yeah, that’ll work._

Before he could even charge forward, he halted at the sudden sound of the men yelling out in pain as they violently convulsed in place, looking like they were each being electrocuted. The eight masked men crumpled to the ground, something sticking out of each of their backs.

 _Trick arrows,_ Wally put together. Someone had shot a round of electricity charged arrows at each of the men. It was an archer, he realized, as the person in question calmly made their made over to the now convulsing men on the ground, and bent down to pick up the briefcase from one of the man’s hands.

More than anything, he was confused, but had to do _something._

He was standing dumbly on the sidewalk like a helpless pedestrian, but what else could he do? He had no idea who this mysterious archer was, or what their deal was. And he was a confrontational person by nature, so at this point he didn’t care one bit if he looked like a random passerby with junk food spilling out his pockets caught up in a crime scene at one in the morning— this person was suspicious.

As the archer walked away from the pile of bodies on the floor and headed towards a nearby alleyway, Wally ran to catch up with them. “Hey!” he called out.

The archer looked towards his way, surprised at his presence. _They didn’t notice me,_ he noted, as he walked closer towards them. They were hooded, and their eyes were covered by both the hood and a mask, so Wally couldn’t get a good look at their face, and they were also decked out in techwear, no doubt using it to hide gadgets and tools in all those pockets. Their bow and arrow was slung over their back, but he noticed their fingers move towards it as he stepped closer.

“Who are you? What’s in the briefcase?” Wally asked, as he warily attempted to make eye contact with the archer.

They clutched the briefcase tighter as they stared him down. It felt like a full minute had passed before they finally spoke. “It’s nothing you need to know,” they answered, glancing at him momentarily one last time before retreating to the shadows of the alley.

It was a feminine voice. Wally frowned. _A girl?_

“Wait!” he called, moving forward to follow, but as he stepped into the alleyway, he was alone, and the archer girl was gone.

_...What the hell just happened?_

*** * ***

Wally checked his wrist watch and groaned. _6:28AM._ He was running late for work, but if he hurried then he could still make it. Last night’s snack-run-turned-fiasco that felt more like a fever dream than anything had caused him to lose out on much needed sleep, but particularly the masked archer girl that lived rent-free in his head was his main source of insomnia. 

He still didn’t know what her deal was, what was in the briefcase she took from those men, or if she was playing on the right side of the law or not. He didn’t have much to go off of in terms of what he had seen either. He’d never seen her before, she seemed to be working alone, she worked quickly and efficiently, and she didn’t say much. All he really could do was inform Kaldur of what had happened, who had promised to notify Batman, who had said he would “look into it”. And that was that.

Truthfully, as restless and awful as he felt about the whole situation, the current worry in his mind was wondering if he was going to be fired from work for being late a second time in a row.

The obvious solution to his problem seemed to be to just use his powers to get there faster, but then there was a problem within itself of using his superspeed in broad daylight— especially in his civvies. While people would simply question why Kid Flash would be running around Happy Harbor instead of Central City where his mainstay was, it would definitely turn heads to see a teen in regular clothes running at super speed towards town.

The greatest irony perhaps, was that he rode a bike to work. He never wanted to risk running to work and accidentally triggering his superspeed in public (way too many close calls in gym class last year), and the time it took to simply walk to work was far too long. He also never bothered to get his driver’s license when he turned sixteen— _why drive when you have superspeed_ , he’d reasoned. And thus the only other method of transportation to work was a bicycle. (He was also decidedly not allowed to use his moterbike off missions, unless he wanted to invoke the wrath of Batman.)

Hence his current situation— biking at top speed towards Happy Harbor Diner just shy of 6:30 in the morning. And despite his inner turmoil regarding his double life duties, he was in normal civilian mode now, so the only thing he could do was put a smile on his face and bare it. The second he had pulled up to the parking lot and hopped off the bike, he was already attaching the lock to the bike rack in a flurry.

Slamming open the front doors, Wally skidded into the diner, nearly losing his footing as his sneakers squealed loudly against the tiled floors. “I’m here! I’m not that late again, I swear!” he called out to no one in particular as he walked further into the diner.

The rest of the staff was usually in the back kitchen setting up before opening hours, so it wasn’t unusual for the front of the diner to be so empty. 

“What the—”

_CRASH!_

In retrospect, he should have expected to find himself violently introduced to the floor the second he stepped foot on the freshly mopped tiles, but the salty part of his brain was focused on the fact that _someone_ neglected to put a wet floor sign up.

He groaned in pain as the smack from hitting the ground face first finally caught up to him. Accelerated healing aside, he still felt pain when he got hurt. Couldn’t say the same for Conner, though. _Impenetrable skin, lucky bastard,_ Wally thought sourly.

He heard a faint voice ask “what was that loud noise?” from the back kitchen and distant footsteps, but Wally just stayed put on the floor, wanting the earth to swallow him whole. He hadn’t even clocked in yet. He was also running on four hours of sleep.

His only saving grace was that no one had actually seen him fall. The crashing sound could have been anything. And with that, his dignity could still be saved. 

So if he got up now he could—

At that moment, Marvin suddenly came skidding in from the backdoors, slamming them wide open with a bang. “Wally, man, are you okay?! Totally my bad, I just mopped like ten minutes ago!”

Wally groaned in annoyance. “And you couldn’t at least put a caution wet floor sign?! Plus, don’t you mop at night?”

“Yeah, but I accidentally knocked over that bucket and it spilled so I had to mop the whole area. Are you okay, though?”

Wally sighed. “Physically, I’m alright. Mentally, my dignity is already gone. Goodnight Marvin,” he said peacefully, as he rested his chin on the newly mopped floor. It was squeaky clean, and the overwhelming scent of citrus that hit his nostrils made him feel like he was on the verge of sneezing. Donna was probably going to yell at him any second now if he didn’t get up. After all, he was lying on the ground, face planted, instead of doing kitchen prep work like he was supposed to. But he still technically hadn’t clocked in yet, so legally-

“You okay there, boy?”

Wally lifted his head up from the ground, glancing up at Happy Harbor diner’s lead cook.

“Yeah, I’m fine, I just— crud. Great, now I smell like floor cleaner,” he whined, pulling himself up from the ground.

“If it helps, it’s lemon scented Lysol,” Marvin offered.

“It really doesn’t, but thank you,” Wally replied flatly, looking down at his now damp clothes. He was going to smell like lemon-scented Lysol all day, wasn’t he? _Great._

The sound of an unfamiliar laugh made his head snap up in confusion. “This must be Wally, right?”

He looked up to search for the voice and trained his eyes on a girl about his age with long blonde hair and an incredulous look on her face. Standing next to her was Donna, who looked nothing more than unimpressed. This was a usual occurrence, after all.

“The one and only. Don’t let him annoy you too much. Lord knows that boy can annoy the hell outta me,” Donna replied to the smirking blonde.

“Hey!” Wally said defensively, and then turned back to look at the now snickering girl who stood beside his boss. “Uh, who’s this?” he frowned.

“Artemis,” the girl responded, as it was obvious. At the still confused expression on Wally’s face, she rolled her eyes. “Your new coworker.”

Wally squinted in apprehension. He couldn’t tell if she was annoyed or amused by him falling flat on his face from ignoring the wet floor sign. She was pretty, he'd give her that, and normally he’d hit on her, but she already looked unimpressed, and he had already just embarrassed himself. But since when did he have shame?

“Uh, hi. Wally West,” he began, then frowned. “Wait, new what?”

“Wow, he’s kind of slow, isn’t he?” Artemis laughed, raising an eyebrow.

He narrowed his eyes at her. He was very much _not slow_.

Donna cleared her throat. “I’m going on my maternity leave soon, so we need a new waitress to take my place. Don’t tell me you forgot, Wally. Collin went through this last week at the staff meeting. Multiple times too.”

Wally stared at her blankly.

She frowned. “Remember? We mentioned my maternity leave and that’s when you asked if I was going to name my child Wally West Jr?”

Wally’s eyes lit up. “Oh, _that_ I remember. That’s still happening, right?”

Donna sighed heavily as Artemis stifled a laugh.

“Kidding! But yeah, now that I think back on it, Collin did say we were getting a new employee. Yeah...I forgot. Must have slipped my mind.”

Frankly, what went on in the staff meetings at his day job didn’t really take high priority in his brain as much as his double life as Kid Flash did. Finding out more about the Light organization and the mystery archer that escaped from him last night, those were his priorities. Finding out what they were doing in Happy Harbor was his priority.

“Yeah, slipping seems to be something you do often,” Artemis remarked with a small smirk.

Wally glared.

“ _Anyways_ , I’ll be training Artemis here for the next week as my replacement, so she’ll be a trainee. She’ll be shadowing me for the first bit, but I’m sure she’ll catch on real quick. Just like you did,” Donna explained.

“I’m sure she won’t be as quick as me. I mastered everything on my first day because I’m perfect,” Wally boasted.

“Not as fast as you mastered eating the leftovers in the back room when you think no one’s no ones looking. That’s right, I see you,” she added, after seeing his surprised expression. “I see everything.”

Artemis laughed at Wally’s embarrassment, again, and he decides it annoys him.

“Wha- okay, you’d rather we throw them out in the trash? Pollute the earth? If anything I’m helping the environment, so you’re welcome!”

“Hey genius, ever heard of compost? Food decomposes.” Artemis scoffed.

“She’s right,” Marvin shrugged, kneeling over the wet mop bucket.

“Y-you think I don’t know that? I knew that!” Wally defended.

Her smirk was back, and it angered him. “Sure you did.” 

He grit his teeth. “Listen here you little...”

“Little what?” she pressed.

“You—”

“Right!” Donna cleared her throat, shooting Wally a glare. “Let’s get to opening! Move it everyone!” she ordered, and Wally huffed in response.

As everyone dispersed to their work stations, Wally moved towards the back room to throw his personal belongings on the nearby rack before walking to the open kitchen to wash his hands. He could still smell the pungent lemon scent on his clothes, and adding water to the mix did nothing to help. Mentally cursing Marvin, he groaned before shutting off the water and drying his hands.

“Oh, and one more thing,” Donna said suddenly, walking towards him. “You two better get on good terms real soon because you’ll both be working in the same space from now on.”

Wally spun around to face his boss. “Wait what?”

“Yep. Artemis will be working the cash register for today, and I’m going to teach her how to work the malt machine.”

“Great,” he responded with fake enthusiasm, looking at Artemis from the corner of his eye. She was watching him back, but her expression was unreadable. _What was with that girl?_

Shaking it off, he began pulling out ingredients and supplies from the refrigerator, sneaking glances at Artemis being briefed by Donna on the menu selection. In hindsight, he should have seen this coming; the idea of a new employee, with Donna’s pregnancy and all. He had grown to become comfortable with the diner staff from the few weeks he’s worked here, and while he wasn’t opposed to change, he wasn’t expecting to have a nuisance for a new coworker this early in the morning.

As he continued the kitchen prep work, he couldn’t help but listen in on Donna’s instructions to Artemis as she trains her. They hadn’t gotten a new employee in so long, that this was all new to him. In fact, before Artemis had started, he was the newest employee, and he started working there at the beginning of the summer. They weren’t understaffed at Happy Harbor Diner per se, but it would help to have more hands to help out. They were really only one employee short, and that was Wendy, who left a few weeks prior for cheer camp, whatever that was all about. She was their only hostess at the diner, and even she only worked part time.

Judging from the way things were going on in their conversation, Artemis was a quick learner, and was catching on fast. It was somewhat difficult to overhear their conversation over the sound of a _Wham!_ song blaring on the radio, so Wally found himself straining his ears. He didn’t have super hearing like Conner, so he was only really getting bits and pieces of Donna and Artemis’s conversation. _Why do I care so much?_

He looked back to the stack of frozen food in front of him, trying to rip away his prying eyes. He didn’t think he’d made a very good impression on the new girl, but then again, he didn’t think she did either. She didn’t seem to like him that much, or maybe she just enjoyed making him irritated. But what had he done to deserve her scorn? Was it just her personality? All he did was trip in front of her! Then argue. And argue again. And-

He looked back up again, but frowned at the absence of their supervisor. It was just Artemis standing at the cash register by herself.

Wally dropped the scissors and bag of potatoes back onto the counter. “Uh, where’s Donna?”

“She went to the back room to talk to Collin about her work schedule,” Artemis replied. “You know, with leaving and all.”

“Oh. Right.”

They stared at each other awkwardly, before breaking eye contact and going back to what they were doing before. They’ve been working together in the same space for the past fifteen minutes now, but they hadn’t actually talked since their brief scuffle earlier. He looked over at her once again from the corner of his eye, and then looked back to the potatoes in front of him. 

The heavy silence loomed over them, and he willed himself to speak. Might as well make conversation, or at least _try_ to be civil.

“So uh, how are you liking it here?”

“From the hour I’ve been here so far? Don’t know yet.”

“Right,” he coughed. “That’s a valid point. But you’ll get used to things pretty quick around here.”

Artemis made a hum of agreement.

Another silence follows as Wally found himself running out of things to say. It’s jarring to him, because he was a man of many words and had never really found himself at a loss for words. Especially when talking to girls. Before Wally had found out that Megan and Conner had started dating, he had no shortage of pickup lines aimed for Megan, and he had plenty of unused one liners waiting to be used on other girls after his romantic dreams with her had been crushed.

He was happy for Conner and Megan though, because if his friends were happy, then he was happy. He had to admit, they made a cute couple, despite how different they were. Conner was the strong and silent type, and Megan was sweet and talkative. Maybe opposites did attract. In the case of Dick’s not so subtle crush on Zatanna though, that was a different story, whatever that was. Dick made Wally swear he’d never tell a soul about his crush, and if otherwise then he’d slit his throat at night. Empty threat, as usual, and Wally was 96 percent sure that Zatanna already knew about the crush anyway.

As for Wally, he had never really had issues talking to girls, or talking to anyone in fact. He could talk all day if given the chance. As long as he had a good conversation topic, he was game. But talking to Artemis, or trying at least, was foreign to him. Something about her, her general attitude was off-putting to him. It just felt different.

After a long silence, Artemis spoke again. “Did you?”

Wally frowned, as he pulled out a cutting board. “Did I what?”

Artemis raised an eyebrow as if it was obvious. “Did you get used to things quickly?”

“Oh. Well yeah. I started right after school ended, at the beginning of summer. it’s not my first job, and I’ve worked in the food industry before, so really it was a matter of getting used to the restaurant and the rest of our coworkers. Is this….your first job?”

Artemis looked down in thought. “Kind of. I’ve mostly just worked…” she pauses to think, then frowns, “In my family business. But I’ve decided to branch out, try something new.”

She sounds as if she’s choosing her words carefully, and Wally feels there’s more to the story, but he doesn’t push for more. “I feel that. I work with my uncle sometimes, so we’re in the same boat basically.”

Artemis chuckled. “I doubt that.”

Wally’s hands paused mid potato peel. “Why?”

“Let’s just say my family aren’t the easiest people to work with.”

“Oh. Noted.” Wally responded. He felt like there was much more to that statement, and he had no idea what she meant by that, but again, he didn’t press for more. The conversation was already awkward enough.

She looked up at the clock, her braided hair swishing in mid air as she did so. “I think we’re opening soon.”

Wally looked down at the cutting board. “Right.”

The rest of the morning flew by. But the whole time, Wally couldn’t stop himself from staring at his new coworker. And not because she was pretty that he wouldn’t deny— but because something about her was different, something he couldn’t place.

He knew it sounded crazy, but something in the back of his mind was screaming at him that he knew her from somewhere. But he also was certain he'd never seen her face before.


End file.
